


Ace student

by Jens



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Getting Together, Kissing, M/M, how do crushes work, why do i always write things like this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-25
Updated: 2016-12-25
Packaged: 2018-09-12 01:30:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9049759
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jens/pseuds/Jens
Summary: Kise asks Kagami to tutor him in English and things happens.





	

They don’t really hang out by themselves. There’s always someone else around, usually Kuroko, Aomine and/or Momoi, and that being the case, Kise’s attention never stays focused on Kagami very long. Sooner or later he’ll end up gushing over Kuroko (annoying), bickering with Aomine (relatable) or quietly conversing with Momoi (Kagami doesn’t really know what to think about that - he respects Momoi’s analysing skills but knows next to nothing about her on a personal level).

But Kagami always finds himself focusing on Kise. And not just when they’re actually in the same place. He’s been trying to think about it, about why he can't stop thinking about Kise; all he’s come up with is that Kise has the kind of looks that attract people. Because hey, objectively speaking Kise is probably really handsome.

Okay no, he definitely is. And not just objectively speaking either, Kagami can full heartedly agree that Kise is indeed good-looking. As a model he has to be, Kagami supposes, but there’s something more to it, about him, his personality, that just draws people in. Which, well. Kagami is drawn to Kise, and not just for the looks. He wants to hang out with Kise and make him laugh, maybe, just see him be happy and talk to him and just - just _be_ with him.

That’s just the easy part though, admitting he wants to see Kise a lot. After that comes the question why. Why Kise has this strange hold on Kagami. Why Kagami would probably jump off a bridge if Kise asked him to.

...yeah. He already knows exactly why but admitting it to anyone, even himself, is scary. Who knows how Kise would react - Kagami’s not ready for their friendship to end (that's only the worst case scenario, of course, but what if Kise won’t want to have _anything_ to do with him once he knows?)

So instead he keeps denying his feelings and hoping Kise doesn’t notice anything; if he does, at least he doesn’t say anything. Kagami can work with that.

* * *

 

After a game of two on two (Aomine and Kuroko vs Kise and Kagami - Kagami and Kise win, although likely only due to Kuroko not having the same level of stamina as everyone else) Kagami’s sweating and really feeling the strain but he still takes Aomine up on his offer for a one-on-one. How could he not, when Aomine’s smirking in that obnoxious way of his, clearly telling Kagami that Aomine will make fun of him if he says he’s too tired?

Kise and Kuroko retreat to the side, and Momoi offers them towels. Kise smiles, reaching for a towel, and wipes his face with it before taking his water bottle and taking a long swig, his neck bobbing with the flow of the liquid and Kagami can’t take his eyes off of him -

“Ready?” Aomine calls, and Kagami snaps back to reality, remembering Kise isn’t the only one at the court. Right, they’re playing. Him and Aomine, not him and Kise. He forces a confident smirk on his face; like hell he’d ever willingly show Aomine he’s into Kise of all people. He’d never hear the end of it.

“Bring it on!”

The next five or so minutes Kagami manages not to even glance on Kise’s direction, his full attention on the ball. He can’t afford to get distracted, Aomine’s already kicking his ass enough as it is, and his muscles are just on this side of giving in.

Then Aomine fumbles with the ball, allowing Kagami to swoop in to steal it, and he heads for the basket on Aomine’s side of the court.

He wants to make the shot, to show off to Kise. Just as the ball is leaving his fingertips, Kagami glances to where Kise’s standing, to make sure he’s watching. To make sure Kise will be impressed. Right at that moment Kise catches Kagami’s eye from the other side of the court and _winks_.

Oh. Kagami fumbles, suddenly not sure how to handle a basketball anymore, and misses the shot; the ball bounces off the rim and falls to the ground with a pathetic thud that makes Kagami’s stomach drop and his cheeks flush in embarrassment.

As if to add to the insult, Kise starts laughing. _Fuck_.

Aomine retrieves the ball and slaps Kagami on the back a bit too hard. “Oi, Bakagami, try to focus!”

“I am!”

Kise’s still laughing when they resume the game; Aomine uses Kagami’s distraction to breeze past him and make a shot. Frustrated, Kagami wipes off sweat from his forehead and curses his stupid crush.

(He loses the game, somewhat predictably, and it’s only a little bit because of Kise.)

 

* * *

 

Kuroko has to leave early for some family thing; Momoi leaves soon after and she drags Aomine with her. Aomine shoots a mildly alarmed look at Kise over his shoulder, and starts to say something, but Kise cuts him off with a cheerful “It’s okay, you can go”.

That’s weird. Kagami doesn’t dwell on it too long, though, because he doesn’t want to think about how close Aomine and Kise always seem, how maybe they'd made plans to hang out just the two of them and what that might imply.

Either way, Aomine does leave and as soon as he’s gone, Kise turns around and aims a beaming smile at Kagami. “You going home now?”

Damn, Kagami’s really not used to that smile being aimed at him. “Yeah, uhh, I am.”

“Okay.” The smile disappears; Kise frowns to himself and shakes his head as if to clear his thoughts. “No, wait. Actually there’s something I wanted to ask, if that’s okay.”

Kagami raises an eyebrow, trying not to seem too eager. Kise asking him something when it’s just the two of them? That’s good. Like, really good. The kind of good that makes Kagami’s heart speed up until he can feel it in his throat - wait that’s _not_ good, Kise will definitely notice.

Or maybe not; Kise seems otherwise preoccupied. His fingers keep fiddling the hem of his shirts, a telltale sign of nervousness. It takes a while before he can get the words out but then it all comes out in a blur. “I, uh, could use some help with English? I need to keep up my grades or I won’t be allowed to play on the team. And you’ve lived in America so I thought maybe you could… tutor me or something.”

Tutoring? Sure, why not, he can work with that. They’d get to be alone, just the two of them, and Kagami could maybe impress Kise with his English and then -

Kise apparently takes Kagami's silence as a sign of rejection because he lifts his bag on his shoulder, a flush on his face. “Um. If it’s too much trouble, that’s okay, I can just - it’s not like I’m failing or anything, I just wish my grades were better but that’s. Not really your responsibility. So. I’m fine, I mean I’m gonna go now, see you later.”

“No, I’ll do it!” Kagami cringes at the volume of his voice when he finally finds it again but at least Kise stops. The smile on his lips is hesitant but excited when he meets Kagami’s eyes.

“...really?”

“Yeah, it’s no problem. Just tell me when you’re free so we can meet. I live alone so my place is good, yeah? No distractions or anything.” _Oh fuck shut up already he’ll know exactly how fucking thirsty for him you are and then he’ll never want to be alone with you and -_

“Okay, I’ll let you know when I’ve got time.”

“Just as long as it doesn’t interfere with basketball practice.” _The only thing more important than Kise_ , Kagami’s traitorous brain pipes in. Fuck, he’s in way deeper than he thought just moments ago. “You have my number, right? Just, um, text or call whenever.”

Kise beams like he’s gotten the best news ever. “Yeah! I’ll work really hard, I’ll be an easy student.”

Easy student, huh. Maybe not the best choice of words as Kagami’s mind immediately goes to the gutter but he’s stronger than that so he tries not to show how excited he is when Kise waves and takes off. Being alone with Kise for extended periods of time? It’s going to be great. 

 

* * *

 

Torture, that’s what it is. Kagami keeps stuttering over even the simplest words and forgetting grammar, all the while overly conscious of Kise’s proximity. His palms have sweated approximately 10 liters since Kise came in and the rest of his body isn’t faring much better. It’s just awful.

And why the fuck does Kise seem so calm? Oh right, he probably doesn’t have a crush the size of Japan on Kagami so being this close to him does nothing to Kise. Sucks, that.

Either way, Kagami feels way too hot for comfort.

“Is everything okay?”

Kagami jumps backwards, nearly falling off his chair, when his vision is suddenly full of Kise.

“You’ve been zoning off,” Kise says with a pout, leaning back so Kagami can start breathing again. “Is tutoring boring? I can leave if you want.”

What? No, Kagami does not want Kise to leave. In fact he wants him to stay longer, forever preferably, and just keep smiling and - _I’m so fucking gay_.

“Stay for dinner! I mean - do you want to?! No, wait, I mean you can stay if you want. I’ll cook, I can just make enough for two, it’s no problem.” Kise’s lips are twitching in an attempt to keep from smiling and Kagami has never hated himself more. Why does he keep making such a fool of himself in front of Kise?

“I’d love to. Stay for dinner. If you’re sure it’s okay.” Kise coughs. “I mean, you’re really good at cooking so it’d be great to have dinner made by you.”

_It’d be great to eat something you made for me_. That’s a pretty romantic thing to say.

...or would be, if Kise associated romance with Kagami. Which, Kagami is almost 100% sure by now, he doesn’t. If he did, Kise wouldn’t be so casual about all of this, being alone with Kagami and having dinner with him; maybe he’d be sweating buckets and having small heart attacks every time Kagami so much as looks his way. The same as Kagami.

So he has just has to put those thoughts away, for good. Kise deserves someone who’s happy just being his friend and if Kagami can’t do that - well, it’s not like he has to keep seeing Kise, they don’t go to the same school or even live in the same city so if he quits tutoring Kise, he can avoid him. At least until he’s over him; maybe then they could actually be friends.

Good. That’s a plan. 

 

* * *

 

By the 4th tutoring session Kagami has almost convinced himself that he can actually get over Kise.

It’s far from easy, what with the domesticity of it all; Kise coming over and studying with him and afterwards staying for dinner more often than not. Sometimes he even helps Kagami with the cooking although he’s not the best at it (which doesn’t mean he’s necessarily bad either, just not nearly Kagami’s level).

Anyway, it’s easy to get used to, and that scares Kagami.

Things stay the same until the 6th time Kise comes over for a study session. It starts out like his every visit, the two of them settling down by Kagami’s desk and going through Kise’s English homework, until about halfway through Kise starts getting restless, not paying attention to what Kagami’s saying. Eventually Kagami decides it’s pointless to continue if Kise’s not even listening so he sets down his pen.

“Is something wrong?”

It takes a while of Kise biting into his lip, twirling a strand of hair around his finger. “I think we should talk.”

Kagami’s heart stops for a moment. Nothing good ever comes after ‘we need to talk’. “Okay?”

There’s another long silence. Eventually Kise continues, his voice barely audible even in the quiet of the room. “So um. I actually could’ve asked someone from Kaijou to help me with English, it’s not like no one in my class speaks it. But… it had to be you.” A pause, then, even quieter than before, “I wanted it to be you.”

More silence; Kise seems to be choosing his words very carefully. “I needed something to give us an excuse to hang out together without anyone else. And Aominecchi would get upset if I asked you for one-on-one, so it had to be something else. Not basketball, I mean.” At the corner of his eye Kagami catches Kise fiddling with his sleeves in that cute way he always does when he’s nervous. “So… I figured it had to be something special, something I could associate with just you. And I can already cook, at least well enough for me. Asking you to help me with English was the only thing I could think of.”

Kise inhales slowly and finally looks Kagami straight in the eye. His voice is stronger, less hesitant, when he finishes with, “What I’m trying to say is I like you, Kagamicchi.”

There’s a pleasant swoop in Kagami’s stomach and warmth rushing into his cheeks. All of this is so unexpected, so surprising, that he’s not sure it’s even happening for real. “W-what?!”

Kise’s getting red too but his voice still doesn’t waver as he repeats, “I like you.”

There is no hint of joking in Kise’s expression, or his voice, but Kagami still hesitates. Honestly, this is too good to be true. Kise can’t like someone like Kagami. Kise, who’s a celebrity with tons of fans, who probably gets hundreds of love letters a year, liking Kagami, who… is a nobody. What could he possibly offer to Kise? He used to think his basketball skills were something unique, and amazing, but then the Generation of miracles came along and even that went down the drain.

And Kise especially, with his copycat ability, how could Kagami ever even hope to be awe-inspiring to him? No, this can’t be happening. It’s a dream, Kagami must have fallen asleep during the tutoring session, or then Kise’s not serious. Maybe he found about Kagami’s crush and decided to joke at his expense.

That’s probably it.

“Huh.” He wants to say something to make Kise admit that he’s not serious, but all that comes out is a mixture of a grunt and a sigh. Kise’s shoulders are all tense, like he’s on a wire, and Kagami’s reaction makes his body jolt. He looks at Kagami with expectation written all over his face but neither says a word.

The silence stretches until Kagami feels like throwing up from his nerves. Every time he opens his mouth to say something the words get stuck in his throat, resulting in him just gaping like a fish. Eventually Kise nods to himself, as if coming to a decision.

“Um. I’m sorry. You were just being nice and this is probably really creepy for you so…” Kise’s smile is fake, even Kagami can see that. Or maybe it’s easy to tell because his shoulders seem even tenser than before. But if it really was a joke, he wouldn’t be upset, right? So maybe…

“So wait, this isn’t a joke? Or something Aomine made you do?”

“What?! No, he’s got nothing to do with this… why would you-” Kise stops mid-sentence, his eyes going wide. “Wait, do you really think Aominecchi would ask someone to confess to you as a joke? I mean, I know you guys don’t exactly like each other but that’s not something he’d do to anyone ever. And I definitely wouldn’t go along with it even if he did.”

Kagami’s heart is about to break out of his chest with the way it's beating. “So… you mean… you really like me?”

“Why would I lie about this?!”

Why indeed. Kagami can’t think of even one reason for why Kise wouldn’t be honest but a part of him still keeps saying it can’t be real. Because Kise deserves someone as amazing as Kise himself is, not a normal guy like Kagami. Maybe a model, so Kise and his datemate could dazzle everyone with their combined beauty. Or then -

Suddenly Kagami becomes aware of a hand on his cheek, guiding him closer to Kise, and _oh_. It’s not like he doesn’t know about kissing and all that, but it’s entirely different to talk about it in general than to actually be seconds away from kissing your long-time crush. His heart beat picks up again, and this time he’s sure his chest will tear in half at the force of it.

“...can I?” Kise breathes against his lips, still not quite touching. It’s starting to frustrate Kagami a bit, to be so close yet not actually kissing, so he crosses the remaining distance himself.

As far as kisses go, it probably isn’t the best. Even though he tries to be careful, Kagami’s teeth clack against Kise’s a bit painfully and Kise jerks back, frowning a little. But then he smiles, a cute small smile that makes Kagami’s insides melt, and Kise leans in with a reassuring hand on Kagami’s neck. This time it’s way better; there’s not teeth clashing and Kise’s lips are soft and taste faintly of lemon. Kagami brings a hand to Kise’s cheek, rubbing it gently, and Kise gasps a little. Kagami takes the chance to push even closer, relishing in the feeling of Kise’s heartbeat against his.

_Kise likes me. He_ likes _me. He’s kissing me._

They pull apart, taking a moment to just look at each other. Kagami has always found Kise very pretty but nothing quite compares to the way he looks right then, his lips red and a little swollen, a slight flush on his cheeks. Pretty, so pretty.

He wants to keep kissing Kise so he leans in again, only for Kise to put a hand on his chest and gently push him back. Kagami goes as far as Kise pushes him but he feels anxious worry spreading in his chest. Did he do something wrong? Did Kise not like kissing him? What if he’ll take it back after all? What is-

“So… can I take that to mean you like me too?”

Kagami looks at Kise, the uncertainty foreign on his usually confident features, and the smile that spreads on his face is nothing short of ecstatic. Kagami extends a hand, gently bringing it to Kise’s cheek, and presses his forehead to Kise’s.

“...yes, yes you can.”

Kise huffs a quiet laughter that Kagami feels more than hears. “In that case I’m gonna kiss you again.”

“Good.”

* * *

   
(Kise can’t help but tell everyone of his friends about him and Kagami dating the first chance he gets. Aomine complains about their relationship but from the smile on his face Kagami knows he’s been hoping for Kise to get together with Kagami, and well. Kagami might hate the guy but he does seem to genuinely care for Kise and that, in addition to basketball, is definitely a common interest.)

**Author's Note:**

> guess who's back!!! my mental health's been like 50 shades of fucked up this year plus I started at a new school in August so I really haven't been able to write in ages which sucks but what can you do  
> anyway for now have this thing that I was supposed to finish for KagaKise day in October lmao


End file.
